Positive Action Changes Everything

Mid-Hudson OA

website >> midhudsonoa.org

 ...with their permission, of course. :} 

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Our next Mid Hudson InterGroup meeting will be held

Saturday, January 18th at

Cornwall United Methodist Church,

196 Main St., Cornwall, NY 12518.

Region 6 Info

website >> oaregion6.org

OA WSO Info

website >> oa.org

Step 11 - Spiritual Awareness

Tradition 11 - Anonymity

Step 11:  Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out.

Learning to Listen

My first Step sponsor told me I could begin to practice Step Eleven early in my OA program. I did not need to wait until I had worked the preceding ten Steps.

Prayer for me, until then, had just been asking God for things I thought I needed; basically “God, please give me _____.” But my sponsor had me stick with the basics each morning. I prayed the Serenity Prayer and prayed the prayers for Steps One, Two, and Three—preferably on my knees. Sometimes it was just “I can’t, God can, and I think I’ll let God!” The Third Step Prayer also became crucial. “God, I offer myself to Thee . . . . May I do Thy will always!” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 63). My sponsor had me focus on one idea every week from For Today or Voices of Recovery and discuss the changes in my relationships to God and others.

Prayer is when we talk to God. Meditation is when we listen to God. I became curious about how I could add meditation to my program, and I found answers right after the famous Ninth Step promises (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th. ed. pp. 83–84). Many twelve steppers read these promises (and the suggestions through p. 88) daily, since our daily reprieve is based on maintaining our fit spiritual condition.

I attended a session of guided meditation in which we learned to sit quietly and use the Tool of writing. After pouring our hearts out to God, talking to him as we would our best friend, we were asked to listen silently. As ideas came into our minds, we jotted them down quickly. We sat still for about five minutes, which can seem like an eternity to beginners in meditation. At the end of the session, we went around the circle, and people shared the messages that perhaps God had sent. A key suggestion was that some thoughts may arise from our own self-will, so it is best to share our writings with a sponsor or another person who can be objective to help us decide whether to act on any guidance we receive.

Soon I fell in love with my morning time spent with my Higher Power. It became a time I longed for on the days I missed it. It gave me incredible peace and serenity as I dealt with death, loss, illness, and pain. It has not been my willpower or self-discipline that enabled me to go from 300 pounds (136 kg) to 140 pounds (64 kg) and stabilize at this weight. My healing has been a miracle from my Higher Power. He has spoken to me through my many wonderful sponsors and through OA-approved literature. The prayers my wonderful OA family said for me have made a tremendous difference in my life.

Thank you, God, and thank you, OA, for saving my life. I will be eternally grateful.

— Mary A., Austin, Texas USA

Tradition 11:  Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, television and other public media of communication.

Attractive Anonymity

Living in a small town, I found it difficult to maintain anonymity. At first, I did not want anyone to know I was a member of OA. My meeting took place in the church I attended, so I felt somewhat uncomfortable. Later, I helped the members find another meeting space.

Then there was the challenge of finding ways to attract others to the meeting. Another member and I contacted the local newspaper and found a reporter willing to interview us without using our real names. The article she wrote gave personal accounts in detail and included basic information about OA and the local meeting location. We were very pleased with the result, and it did attract some new members.

I was surprised when an OA member told a nonmember about my ties to OA. First of all, I did not like having my OA membership disclosed. But worse, the nonmember insisted I tell her more about the meeting.

“You are in charge of OA,” she said.

I was in her house where she was entertaining other women and the conversation was causing others to wonder what I was doing. I wanted to be sure they did not misunderstand and believe me to be an expert who made all the OA decisions. Fortunately, another woman suggested we talk about it later.

When I attended my next OA meeting, another member made an amends, saying it was she who had told the hostess about my OA membership. The meetings continued without any other embarrassment, but it made me see that anonymity is vital to our recovery.

Overeaters Anonymous has changed my life, and I continue to use the media for attraction without sharing personal information. I want to let others know about special events like Unity Day or a Tradition workshop. I can stay anonymous, and that brings a sense of humility.

Our meetings are still going after thirty years, and I have maintained my anonymity along with my serenity. There are people who have never seen me with the 60 pounds (27 kg) of added weight that I carried in 1985. When I choose to share my OA membership, people say, “You don’t look like you need to be in OA.” I reply, “I have stayed in the meetings so I can continue to know recovery.”

I can be an attraction because I remember how anonymity works.

— Anonymous, Oregon USA

NOTE: One-year subscriptions and renewals are available through the end of this year, December 2019. No new subscriptions or renewals will be processed starting January 1, 2020. All subscriptions will end on December 31, 2020.